The field of this invention relates to firearms and specifically to the handgun type of firearm. The subject matter of this invention is related to the structure defined and claimed within U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,249, entitled "Double Action Hand Gun Apparatus," issued Apr. 18, 1972, by the present inventor.
The main advantage to a .45 caliber firearm is that due to the large mass of a .45 caliber bullet and the relatively low propelling velocity, if the bullet strikes a human being, even in a limb, the person would more than likely be knocked off balance and down. Clearly, the use of such a handgun is of particular advantage in war and also law enforcement. The lower caliber firearms that are presently being employed in the Armed Services and law enforcement employ the use of a substantially lower mass bullet (compared to the .45 caliber bullet) which is propelled at substantially greater velocity (compared to the .45 caliber bullet). Frequently, when a person is struck with such a lower caliber bullet, the bullet passes quickly through the person with the momentum of the bullet not being transmitted to the person. In both the Armed Services and law enforcement, one of the major complaints is that the person that has been struck continues to navigate about, still representing the same danger as before being struck. As a result, the military individual or the law enforcement officer finds it necessary to shoot the individual a plurality of times before the party becomes inoperative. Besides the danger to the party of several wounds, it is also dangerous to the shooter in that the struck party can continue to return the fire. It would be in the best interest of both parties for the struck party to be rendered inoperative with one shot.
Although the .45 caliber handgun, due to its "knocking down" power, would be especially suited for law enforcement use, even the best marksman of such a weapon is relatively inaccurate at greater than fifty feet. This is due to the fact that the basic construction of this type of handgun produces such inaccuracies. The barrel of such a handgun is actually permitted to move a few thousandths of an inch during firing and is not held rigid. A few thousandths of an inch movement of the barrel easily results in a several inch movement of the projectile at fifty feet. Additionally, the recoil of a conventional .45 weapon is substantial and usually the handgun, when fired, moves several inches in the upward direction. If a second shot is needed, it is then required for the shooter to completely re-aim the handgun which is undesirable through the loss of time required to do such re-aiming.
In both law enforcement and the military, the use of a .45 caliber weapon is highly desirable over a smaller caliber weapon such as a .38 caliber. However, the inherent deficiencies of the aforementioned "Colt .45 Semi-Automatic Pistol" have prevented its widespread use because a .38 caliber is definitely more accurate and does not have an undesirable amount of recoil. If the aforementioned .45 caliber handgun could be modified so as to have a recoil substantially equal to that of the .38 caliber weapon, and the handgun be constructed so as to be substantially more accurate, it would be definitely advantageous for law enforcement officers and the military to choose the use of such a weapon over a .38 caliber handgun.
An additional disadvantage of the aforementioned "Colt" handgun is that there is no way to tell if a cartridge is in the firing chamber with the exception of moving the slide toward the cartridge ejection position. At certain times it is desirable to know quickly if a cartridge is in the chamber so the operator then knows not to cock the weapon and at other times he may believe that there is no cartridge in the chamber when in reality there is. In such instances accidents frequently happen. It would be desirable to employ some means that would make readily observable to the operator whether or not a cartridge is located within the chamber.